Steve Hartlett, Ovlov’s bandleader, found a way to refine some creative impulses with Stove (a band that walked away with this site’s pick for 2015’s Song of the Year) and has put that education to good use in “Spright”. A song that teems with the kind of melancholic frustration and open yearning that’s defined so much of Hartlett’s past body of work, “Spright” still manages to feel incredibly assured. Even considering the time away, Ovlov is a band that’s fully aware of its identity, and their grappling comes with a level of certainty.

Some things are big enough to force a reckoning and “Spright”, finds its narrative examining the implications of how we can challenge our own comfort by engaging more fearlessly with free will. Backed by an inspired swirl of guitars and a menacing rhythm section, “Spright” manages to erupt. As vicious as it is thoughtful, it’s the perfect way to welcome Ovlov back and stands as an extraordinarily promising first look at their upcoming TRU.

Listen to “Spright” below and pre-order TRU from Exploding In Sound here.

Last year, ahem had a coming out party with the exceptionally strong Just Wanna Be EP, ensuring their name would be firmly imprinted into the upper echelon of basement punk bands operating in the upper Midwest. The trio’s been playing shows in support of that release since it was unveiled and now have a new song to offer up, for a great cause. “Sweet Tooth” serves as the lead-off track for The Grey Estates’ forthcoming Sugar Rush Volume 2 compilation, which will see all proceeds going towards benefiting QORDS (Queer Oriented Radical Days of Summer), an overnight camp that aims to empower and embolden queer and gender non-conforming youth through emphasizing the communal aspect of making music.

“Sweet Tooth” finds the band picking up right where they left off, firing on all cylinders and working thoughtful compositions into unbridled, immediate energy. Centering the narrative of “Sweet Tooth” on what could be a poetic allegory or could just be face-value fun, ahem give the song everything they’ve got, relentlessly upping its momentum even as it hurtles forward at breakneck pace. A snotty refrain, carefully balanced harmonies, and a bridge that stands as one of the best 28 second runs of music anyone’s likely to hear in a basement punk song all year, “Sweet Tooth” stands defiantly triumphant by the time it comes to its explosive, abrupt close.

The song is both a vital addition for what will undoubtedly be one of the year’s more meaningful releases and a potent reminder of ahem’s formidable strength (as well as an indicator of their growing confidence). It’s an embrace of an outsize, outsider identity and it’s a kick in the face of anything that dares stand in its way. While the running time of the track may be slight, its significance is not. “Sweet Tooth” is something worth celebrating; addictive, unashamed, and true to itself, the song’s an unlikely anthem for the displaced. Help the cause it’s supporting and give it the love it deserves.

Over the course of 2017’s opening three months, a lot of great material was released. Naturally, the most abundantly rich category wasn’t simply songs, music videos, or full releases, it was live videos. It’s been quite some time since the last Watch This ran on this site, an oversight being amended tonight, and in that time scores of great clips have surfaced. Below is an extensive list of some of the finest to have emerged over that time and all of which are more than worth the their runtimes. Of course, it’d be impossible to watch all of these in one sitting, so feel free to bookmark the page and sift through the selections whenever the feeling takes

As is typically the case, every single one of those entries above is worth exploring in greater detail and the fact that they’re not featured at length in this space shouldn’t diminish their impact. For this post’s featured title, the attention turns back to an old favorite: Tony Molina. Ever since turning in some spectacular work with Ovens, the project that earned Molina an early dose of notoriety and acclaim, the songwriter’s been on a hot streak.

2014’s Dissed & Dismissed,the last record to be released under Molina’s name, was an exhilarating collection of micro-punk numbers that were infused with expansive ideas and an earnestness that isn’t always present in the genre. Now, Molina’s returning with a new, eight-song 7″ release entitled Confront the Truth and is teasing the record with “See Me Fall”.

Stripping way back, “See Me Fall” occupies the space of Molina’s most plaintive offerings, a straightforward acoustic number anchored by a familiar sense of trepidation and longing. There’s still a classically-influenced solo to close the proceedings out — a Molina staple — but it’s more subdued than scintillating, demonstrating Molina’s increasingly acute sense of atmospherics.

While it may not be the celebrated songwriter’s most explosive track, “See Me Fall” still manages to become an immediate standout in an impressive discography. In just over a minute, Molina manages to evoke a quiet despair that elevates “See Me Fall” from being somewhat of a curiosity to being genuinely memorable. Vocals, acoustic guitar, and an abbreviated running time is an economic setup but, like so many times before, Molina turns a small scale into something grandiose. It’s a potent reminder of Molina’s considerable talent and a song that should be remembered fondly several years down the line.